TechPoint Targets Tech Talent
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana's technology initiative is launching an effort to connect skilled tech workers with thousands of openings. TechPoint Chief Executive Officer Mike Langellier says IndyX will focus on attracting out-of-town skilled tech workers to central Indiana and also offering immersive internships for Indiana college students. The organization says so far this year, area companies have posted more than 9,000 tech-related job openings.
November 26, 2013
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – TechPoint, Indiana's technology growth initiative, today unveils the pilot of a first-of-its-kind talent recruitment program called IndyX aimed at attracting and retaining skilled individuals by connecting them to the Indianapolis community and thousands of open jobs in area technology companies. Initial planning of the pilot initiative has received support from some of the city's largest, most influential technology companies, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and Lilly Endowment, which understand the critical need that a program like this could fill.
“Companies in the Indianapolis area have posted more than 9,000 technology-related jobs so far in 2013 alone. TechPoint surveyed area tech companies and found that 83 percent of them find hiring to be a challenge with 54 percent finding competition for tech talent in Indianapolis to be at a very high level,” said Mike Langellier, president and CEO, TechPoint. “Executives at area growth companies continue to tell me that one of their critical needs and areas where TechPoint can help most is recruiting skilled talent.”
Executives from Interactive Intelligence, ExactTarget, Angie’s List and Apparatus championed the creation of IndyX and were among the 25 companies participating in the survey. The company survey and workforce analysis were performed with assistance from Loyalty Research Center, Morris Lloyd & Associates, Hire Up Indy and the Department of Workforce Development. Lilly Endowment and Katz, Sapper & Miller provided research funding.
Still in its development stage, the IndyX pilot initiative consists of two components:
• IndyXPat: An events and communication program targeted to 24-40 year old expatriates and out-of-towners with computer-related, executive, sales, marketing and startup leadership skills. The first event will be IndyXMas, held on December 27 at the Speak Easy and DeveloperTown at 5255 Winthrop Ave, Indianapolis, Ind. (Broad Ripple). The event will showcase what the Indianapolis has to offer, the tech companies that are here, and the jobs that have developed over the past five years and will be combined with a dueling piano bar pre-Broad Ripple social with Indy’s fun, vibrant, entrepreneurial community. IndyXMas is a place where Hoosiers can send friends, family and alumni who are interested in moving back to the city and want to get a sense for what is here. To register for the event, visit www.IndyX.org.
• IndyXTern: A “summer in the city” immersive internship program for tech-skilled college students who will work for the summer at some of the top tech companies in the city. Participants will live together with their peers, experience the city with friends, and advance their careers through exposure to guest speakers, company tours and special projects. Application information about IndyXTern can be found at www.IndyX.org.
“This is a tangible example of how companies, universities, state government, city government, charitable foundations and civic organizations to work in coordination toward the same goal of attracting and retaining more talent,” said Langellier.
The Indianapolis tech community is growing, having had at least a dozen tech company acquisitions or initial public offerings since 2007 that yield more than $4.5 billion in market value and more than 3,500 jobs. Many of those employees have ties to Indiana. Results from the recent survey show that 79 percent of surveyed companies indicate that at least eight out of ten of their tech employees are from Indiana or have an Indiana family connection.
“The IndyX initiative is a great opportunity to supplement the recruiting activities of Indiana tech companies,” said Dr. Donald E. Brown, founder and CEO, Interactive Intelligence. “The demand for technical talent in Indiana exceeds the local talent pool, so finding ways to promote our state as a location of technical growth and opportunity is crucial to our businesses and economy.”
Technology companies surveyed indicate that the most in-demand computer-related jobs are: software application developers (85%), web developers (54%), database administrators (54%) and graphic designers (54%). The most in-demand tech skills include knowledge of Javascript, SQL, CSS3 and HTML5. These skills are not only important now but respondents indicate that they will be increasingly important in the next 12 months. Employers surveyed are also seeking college graduates primarily with computer science and software engineering degrees.
“A key component of growing Indiana’s economy is connecting skilled Hoosiers to companies in the state’s burgeoning tech sector,” said Eric Doden, president of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. “Technology-focused companies are already choosing Indiana as their home because of the state’s strong business environment. With the new programming planned by TechPoint through IndyX, I’m confident that more people with Hoosier connections will choose Indiana as their permanent home as well.”
For anyone interested in learning more about the IndyX initiative or in attending the IndyXPat event on December 27, visit www.IndyX.org.
About TechPoint
TechPoint is Indiana's technology initiative focused on being a powerful voice for Indiana's tech sector through marketing and thought leadership, and being a catalyst for strategic growth initiatives – specifically talent recruitment, entrepreneurship, and marketing tech and health information technology (HIT) cluster development. Visit www.techpoint.org for more information.
Source: TechPoint